the county is expected to raise about $1.2 million from that tax. it based its projections on the d.c. system. and you have to remember it's not just grocery stores but all retailers are charging for a bag. >> i was at wheaton mall this weekend. my best friend's wife was buying clothes. the woman told her she had to pay for the bag, lost it. lives in laurel, didn't know. >> yep. stay with us. "news4 today" continues at 5:00 a.m. we're watching a strong line of storms move out of our region this hour. you could still feel their impact today. many low-lying areas like this one in fairfax county are under water at this hour. and that could cause problems with your morning commute. power crews working hard to get lights on for thousands in the area. we found lines down on beech drive nor porter in the district. a tree brought those down. pepco has restored power to 4,000 residents in the past half-hour. just 1,500 in the dark. dominion dropping quickly, as

well. down to less than 800. bge holding steady, 350 outages in anne arundel and prince george's county. high water also a major issue on region roads. megan mcgrath in annan dale, virginia, where streets are blocked from flooding. megan? >> reporter: we are seeing trouble spots still, but we are also seeing quite a bit of improvement. we last spoke about a half-hour ago. and i was standing here in the northbound lanes of annandale road. as you see now, this is no longer under water. the water has receded to further down the roadway here. frankly, it's than deep. i think it's not going to be too much longer that lanes will be closed. right now for the moment at least, northbound annandale road closed near walnut hill lane. now a few hours ago the entire road was closed in both directions. even the southbound lanes because water was across the roadway. you see on the southbound side that has already receded. they opened those lanes up about a half-hour ago.

and i don't think it's going to be too much longer until the northbound side opens, as well. the rain has tapered off and stopped. we're seeing an improvement in the situation. you may encounter trouble spots across the region, low lying areas, areas that don't drain well. you may have standing water here. i'm seeing just down the road apiece. one of the officers here starting to remove some of the cones here on the northbound side. again, it looks like we may have movement in terms of reopening even the northbound lanes here. we'll keep you updated. reporting live in fairfax county, megan mcgrath, news4, back to you guys in the studio. >> thank you. let's check the forecast now. we're dealing with heavy water in low lying areas plus wind today. tom kierein with the forecast. tom? get a grip on your steering wheel. the winds are going to be really picking up here throughout the morning. right now we have a few sprinkles still lingering northern virginia and the eastern shore. we have totals coming in. now these are radar estimates. we had anywhere from an inch to

as much as three to four inches of rain in this green zone. northern virginia, the district, into the suburbs in montgomery and howard county. many rivers, streams, creeks, all the counties in green, still at or above flood stage. watch out for high water. roadways near creeks and streams and rivers. that includes montgomery, frederick, loudoun county, fauquier, rappahannock, culpeper, points north and west of there. the winds have been picking up. you do need to grab the steelering wheel. we had a gust in gaithersburg to 44 miles per hour. we've had gusts over 40 miles per hour in the last half-hour or so. as the morning progresses we'll maybe see the gusts even increase. right now temperatures are dropping. we're in the 40s north and west of washington. 50s, still low 50s around fairfax and arlington, prince george's, and the district. we'll have temperatures continuing to drop throughout the day hour by hour, around 6:00, 50, 7:00, upper 40s. winds gusting 35 to 40 miles per hour. sun breaking out between 8:00 and 9:00, 10:00 this morning. by then we'll be down into the

mid 40s. i'm back in ten minutes with another update. danella with the first 4 traffic on this thursday morning. good morning. good morning. checking on early morning accident, i-95. this it s northbound prior to 32. crash has the right lane getting by as of now. let's head to virginia. we'll talk about high standing water. first, if you're traveling along woodburn road, you'll see a closure at spicewood drive because of high standing water. also high standing water this time heading out toward chantilly. stone heather drive at ladybank lane. high standing water slows you down there. to the dulles toll road between the greenway all the way to the toll road all the way to the beltway both directions. you're clear. also checking 66, no issues out here, as well. over to you. >> thank you. 5:04 now. metro says it may need to reyou have its procedures with d.c. fire after a chaotic scene for people trying to get home last night. some sort of insulator started smoking on the green line, and an emergency responder cut a wrong line.

that left two trains stopped for hours between the anacostia and navy yard stations. some people got off and tried walking. eventually the trains made it to the stations. as you see, the chaos as people tried to board shuttle buses was significant. metro says this incident points to system problems that need to be improved. new information overnight on the chain reaction beltway crash. we brought you the breaking news yesterday morning. a prince george's county volunteer firefighter is improved after doctors reattached his arm. the fire department says 30-year-old lieutenant ryan emmons is in guarded condition. a fire truck was trying to make a u-turn on the beltway when a tractor-trailer rear-ended it. a jeep was also involved. the driver and a passenger in the jeep and the driver in the the remain in the hospital. no word on their conditions. three firefighters were treated and released. today the senate will decide whether the government can continue borrowing billions of dollars without congress' permission. it's set to vote on a bill that would allow the debt ceiling to

keep going up through the middle of may. that would delay the expected shutdown -- rather, showdown between democrats and republicans over spending cuts. the house passed the bill last week. president obama said he will sign it if it passes in the senate. chuck hagel will face some tough questions today in his bid to become defense secretary. the senate armed services committee will hold his confirmation hearing. he's a former republican senator but may have a hard time winning support from the senate's gop members. six republicans have already said they will oppose his nomination. they have questions about comments he made about israel and iran. if confirmed, hagel would be the first vietnam vet to lead the pentagon. president obama says he hopes for some form of immigration within six months. in an interview with telemundo, he says the plan must include a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country. and he says it's time for congress to act. >> we've been working on this for a long time. we know what the issues are.

i've got a bill drafted. we've got language. we know what's needed when it comes to border security. we know what's needed when it comes to dealing with employers who may unlawfully hire undocumented workers. we know what a pathway to citizenship looks like, and what the criteria should be. >> the president says republicans and democrats must come together to resolve the issue. the senate and house are working on separate proposals. while you were sleeping, efforts to free a young hostage in alabama continued, and we're learning more about the man who kidnapped him. ahead, changing his story, what a 49er player is saying about his remarks about gay athletes. the strong weather we saw had a bigger impact on the south.

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beware of high water as you make your beltway work. one driver found that out the hard way in montgomery county overnight. this car became stuck in the middle of newcut road in germantown after a nearby creek overflowed. firefighters pulled the driver out but the car can't be removed until the water recedes. looking outside at union station. we've given up on the flood

warnings, but the wind today will be the story. >> that's right. 5:11. tom? >> yeah, that flag is flapping in winds that have gone gusting to 4 miles per hour. around the region, reagan national had a gust to around 3. gaithersburg, 44 mile-per-hour gust. we've had gusts over 40. panhandle of west virginia, much of western maryland. hagerstown had a gust of usting higher as the morning progresses. right now it's dropping down into the 40s in montgomery county, much of prince george's county, low 50s. low 50s in washington, arlington, fairfax counties. colder air will be moving in throughout the day. blustwe winds will be gust -- blustery winds dropping to 50 miles per hour. 30s by late evening. seven-day outlook in ten minutes. danella? good morning. in addition to flooding, i'm tracking incidents in our area. traveling new york avenue in northeast at fairview avenue. traffic lights are out. treat that as a four-way stop and use caution. to i-95 in maryland, this is as

you approach 32 just prior to 32. going to see an accident there. so far it has just the right lane getting by. want to show you a live camera at 216. volume still is light. as of now it's going to be easy to work around the accident. i'll keep watching for you. other incidents, georgia avenue southbound dealing with the water main break. it is taking up the right side of the roadway. this is at aspen hill road. use caution. so far, as you make your commute this morning, you may want to take connecticut avenue instead. over to you. >> thank you. tension mounting in the middle east at this hour after an air strike by israeli forces. the warning one country is giving at this hour. also ahead, picking up the pieces.

we continue to track the trouble spots for your morning commute after a night of heavy rain.

welcome back. 5:15. 48 degrees. this is what many streets look like now. high standing water, and the water is so high in areas drivers are getting stuck. news4's derek ward is live in the brookville area of montgomery county, the scene of a high water rescue not too long ago. good morning. good morning. indeed it was. you see the sign on broiokville gold mine road. you see the proof. there is high water there. around the bend you can probably see the taillights is a vehicle, toyota camry. a gentleman was rescued from the roof. this road has obviously been closed. the water rising. they don't expect it get much higher, but both ends have been blocked by police. if this is part of your travel route, you might want to make other plans. any place prone to flooding is likely to flood or has flooded.

waters have receded. again here, it may be rising a bit. we're told by montgomery county police that they have been busy the past hour or so. they got through the rain and wind. there were car accidents and flooding is the issue. in your early morning commute, dark areas like this, just be careful for high water. when you see a sign that says flood area, take is seriously. live in brookville, news4. >> thanks. our friends krooth the south will wake up to devastation caused by in same storm. that swath of thunderstorms spawned 13 confirmed tornadoes in eight states. georgia looks to be the hardest hit. a huge tornado there caught on video. take a look. tore through adaresville. one killed, dozens of homes busted up. part of a plant flattened. >> two-mile-long path, maybe a quarter mile wide. angled through town. i'm hearing from folks that have been here all their lives, they've never seen anything this bad. >> a tennessee man was also

killed by a falling tree. there are reports of more than 100 cars flipped by twisters and high winds on interstate 75 in georgia. we're on top of a developing story in syria now. russia is concerned with reports that an israeli air strike killed two people in syria near the lebanese border. the u.s. says israel targeted a weapons convoy northwest of damascus. the convoy was thought to contain weapons for hezbollah militants in lebanon. the syrian army says the air strike destroyed a military research center. hezbollah condemns the attack. the u.s. classifies hezbollah as a terrorist group. police in alabama have been working through the night and now into the morning to free a 5-year-old boy from his alleged kidnapper. police say the child was taken from a school bus by a gunman who fatally shot the bus driver on tuesday. the shooter is a 63-year-old man who neighbors describe as a ticking time bomb with a strong distrust of the government. the boy has been held captive for about 30 hours. an update from authorities is

expected sometime this morning. loirawyers for the florida neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing trayvon martin want more time and money to prepare his case. george zimmerman claims he acted in self-defense when he shot 17-year-old trayvon martin last february. his lawyers filed a motion to delay the case from june to november. they also put a request on line asking for public donations. lawyers say zimmerman is broke and needs about $30,000 a month for attorney fees and living expenses. police in bangladesh have arrested two people in the latest garment factory fire there. the chairman and managing director of smart export garments facing negligence and murder charges. seven people were killed in the blaze. the fire comes just two months after a similar fire killed 112 workers at another factory. garment workers and labor rights groups have been rallied for safer work conditions since that november catastrophe. floating cranes are moving in this morning to start taking apart a navy ship stranded on a coral reef. the "uss guardian," a

minesweeper, ran aground this month at a marine park recognized as a world heritage site in the sulu sea off the philippine coast. the navy originally planned to lift that ship off the reef, but it now says the ship is a complete loss. and trying to move it would do much damage to the coral. it's expected to take a month or so to dismantle the ship. oil continues to blacken parts of the mississippi river this morning. a barge hit a bridge causing the leak earlier this week. the mississippi river, one of the vital commerce routes, shutting it down could have huge economic blows. coast guard officials e doing their best to navigate vessels traveling the rivers while they try to clean the leak. no word on how much oil has leaked into the river so far. boeing is sticking with plans to keep building its 787 dreamliners even though all of the existing planes have been grounded. a company says it hopes to deliver at least 60 of the planes this year. also says it sees no reason to change the lithium ion battery

which triggered the worldwide grounding. boeing insists the battery is safe. earlier this month the 787's battery caught on fire while the plane of parked in boston. a week later, smoke from a burning battery forced a plane to make an emergency landing in japan. five, four, three, two, one, zero. >> just had to show you this video this morning. this is nasa's new communications satellite being launched into space. this happened late last night in florida. it's going to be used to communicate with the astronauts living on the international space station. it will also be used to transfer images from the hubble space telescope. nasa's 11th time sending a tracking and delay shuttle into space. the first was in 1983. always awesome video. >> cool. 5:21. final for weather & traffic on the 1s. meteorologist tom kierein with the forecast. what's going on out there? >> last night it was the rain which has exited. a few lingering sprinkles,

prince george's, the district, fairfax county and loudoun county. temperatures are dropping into the 40s now to near 50. reagan national now down to 53. just an hour ago, it was at 60. the temperatures are rapidly dropping. much of prince george's county now in the low 50s. and we're going to continue to see the temperatures dropping throughout the day. storm team 4 four-day forecast will drop to the 30s after sunset. winds will be gusting to 50 miles per hour today. we could have gusts tomorrow to around 40 miles per hour. maybe some morning snow showers on friday. we'll be down into the 20s friday morning. and into the upper 30s friday afternoon. then all of the way down to the teens on saturday morning. saturday afternoon, cloudy, highs only the mid 30s. a lighter wind. and then cloudy on saturday night, late saturday after midnight into the early morning hours on sunday. you might get flurries or some snow showers. the upper 20s then. and sunday afternoon, cloudy, highs around 40. and it's still going to be cold on monday. partly sunny, interest the mid 20s on monday morning. monday afternoon, the upper 30s. and then on tuesday, still cold.

afternoon highs, though, warmer to the mid 40s. by midweek, we may see highs around 50 degrees. i'm back in ten minutes. danella has a look at your traffic now. good morning. good morning. still checking on the earlier accident. this is i-95 northbound as you approach 32. delays are gone because the crash has just the right lane getting by. so as you make your trip in maryland heading up toward 32, expect delays thoerpg. let's talk about high standing water. we'll head to muncaster mill road at bowie mill road. high standing water there. please use caution. also making the trip along beach drive, closed at connecticut and kensington because of high standing water. that's normal along beach drive. a live look at i-270 in germantown at middlebrook road, no issues to report if you're traveling along i-270 between frederick and the beltway. n both directions, you're clear. i'm back in ten minutes. over to you. >> thank you. a san francisco 49er is

apologizing for some anti-gay remarks he made during super bowl media day. cornerback chris culliver said he would not welcome a gay player in the locker room and that gay players should wait ten years after they leave the league to come out. he released a statement that reads in part, "those discriminating feelings are truly not in my heart. i apologize to those who i offended and hurt." the 49ers have not said if he will face discipline or a fine. getting to the super bowl would make any parent proud. this year no matter the outcome, it is going to be bittersweet for jack and jackie harbaugh. they are the parents of john and jim harbaugh, the head coaches of the ravens and 49ers respectively. they are the first brothers to coach against each other in the nfl title game's history. that puts their parents in a unique position. >> who has it better than us? nobody! the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. and on sunday night we're going to experience both of those

great emotions. and our thoughts will be with the one that comes up a little short. >> they are so cute. the harbaughs face off in just three days. sunday for super bowl xlvii. they must be so proud. philly wasn't showing any love to the wizards last night. the 7 ers beat washington. nick young put up 18 points on his former team. the wizards led with 16. it is the first time the wiz have suffered back-to-back losses since john wall returned to the lineup. they'll try to get back on track against the grizzlies tomorrow night. a maryland horse famous for his race down route 1 in laurel is hitting the track today. remember this -- bulletcatcher's jockey shot this video this month. the horse apparently got loose from the laurel racetrack. he ran more than a mile with the jockey following him in a car before they caught him. today bullet catcher will be running again but against another horse at the laurel

track. the odds on him to win, 8-1. >> we know he can move. >> gotten his practice in, too. before we continue we want to let you know that culpeper schools, culpeper county schools opening two hours late today. our time is 5:26. coming up, ready to make some noise. the piece of legislation that has hybrid drivers in virginia planning to protest. also ahead, watching the roads. the trouble spots we're finding as you get ready to head off to work. and rain is moving out.

chuck hagel will face tough questions in his bid to become defense secretary today. a 30-year-old firefighter from prince george's county remains in guarded condition after a chain reaction on the beltway. and no reported issues on the green line this hour after chaos and confusion during the evening rush. we'll have much more on those stories throughout the morning. first, good morning to you, i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrest. welcome back to "news4 today" on this thursday, january 31. power outages quickly dropping this morning. pepco telling us they're about down to 1,500 customers in the dark, down from about 5,500 an hour ago.

dominion dropping fast now, about 200 power outages in northern virginia. folks have been restored to the tune of about 500 people in the last half-hour. and bge down to about 225 outages in anne arundel and prince george's counties. we had rain and storms, low lowing areas, flooding now. what's the weather going to be like today? we'll check in with storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein. tom? yeah, we had three to four inches of rain in counties in green under flood warnings for rivers and streams that are still going to be running high, that includes montgomery, frederick counties in maryland, and in virginia, loudoun county, f fauquier, solomon, green. if you know where a road crosses a stream you may see water flowing across. temperatures are dropping. 40s in the panhandle of virginia, northern and western suburbs. eastern suburbs, prince george's county, low 50s. 40s montgomery county, near 50 arlington and forecast.

and in the district of columbia. hour by hour through the day, 7:00 a.m., upper 40s. winds gusting to 45 miles per hour. by 8:00 mid 40s as well as 9:00 and 10:00. gusts to 50 miles per hour from 9:00 to the afternoon hours. i'll be back in ten minutes with another update, a look at traffic now with danella. good morning. an update on the earlier accident i-95 northbound. this is as you approach 32 in maryland near the rest area. that crash had the right lane getting by, now's off to the shoulder lane. you may see delays dissipate any moment now. shooting over, we'll talk about flooding in gaithersburg. game preserve road is closed between 355 and cropper road. if you see high standing water, turn around. let's head to prince george's county along branch avenue. southbound lanes, a downed tree blocking the southbound lanes between allentown and kirby roads. be aware of that. let's shoot over it the beltway.

volume, no major delays at branch avenue. as you loop around toward the wilson bridge in both directions, volume is increasing. no major delays yet. luckily no accidents to report. eun, over to you. >> thanks. 5:32. news4 has more from the live desk. tonight? >> we're following reports just coming into our newsroom that about 30 minutes ago just off the coast of alaska they had a 6.0-magnitude earthquake. this is about 188 miles south of juneau, alaska. there are -- there's no word on injuries or damages. we'll continue to follow the story all morning long. that's of the latest. back to you. today in richmond a senate committee will discuss whether to give governor mcdonnell's transportation plan the green light. the house finance committee voted in favor of the plan yesterday. the governor wants to eliminate the commonwealth's gas tax and raise its sales tax to generate more than $3 billion for transportation projects. the plan is fueling some controversy, especially from hybrid car drivers. they're angry mcdonnell's

proposal includes a $100 fee on alternative fuel vehicles. virginia's school and campus safety task force will give its initial recommendations to state lawmakers in richmond today. governor bo governor mcdonnell created it after the newtown shootings. the task force will present recommendations the general assembly could act on in this session. the panel will issue its final report by june. a gun control task force in newtown, connecticut, is considering new ideas on curbing violence. hundreds packed an auditorium last night to offer their suggestions. it was the first public hearing in newtown since the deadly shooting at sandy hook elementary in december. the task force of created in response to the tragedy. speakers included families of the victims, first responders, and community leaders. defense secretary-nominee chuck hagel will talk publicly about his stand on israel and iran today. he'll discuss the issues during his confirmation hearing before the senate armed services committee. hagel has faced criticism from republicans who say he isn't

pro-israel enough or tough enough on iran. he claims about a dozen democrats have already pledged their support for him, but six republicans have already said they will oppose his nomination. vice president joe biden preparing to head overseas. he leaves for europe today. he'll visit germany, france, and the u.k. biden's first stop will be at the munich security conference. this is the vice president's first international trip of the obama administration's second term. if you were worry good your precious twinkies leaving the shelves, take a sigh of relief. hostess, famous for twinkies and other yummy snacks, not going anywhere. the company announced that it accepted a $410 million buyout  offer. hostess announced it was going out of business in november. they now plan on changing its management and branding strategy so the fluffy cakes with the mystery cream filling will be there to ease your sweet tooth. i'm partial to the chocolate sweets. >> i had no problem finding a substitute. >> really? >> yeah. just -- anything else would do. everything will do. >> all right. a culpeper police officer

found guilty of manslaughter could be set free after all. also ahead this morning, how deeps caught up with a burglar before the victim even knew she'd been targeted. it may not seem like much, but a local community is cashing in on those who need a shopping bag. 5:35. the rain is gone now. bring on the wind.

[ telephone rings ] good evening, this is flo. [laughs] yes, i'm that flo. aren't you sweet! licensed phone-ups available 24/7.

call 1-800-progressive. the rain is moving out, but still major flooding concerns in our area this morning. flash flood warnings out right now for rivers and streams all over the place. high water blocking roads, and there is standing water on a lot of highways this morning. >> make sure you don't drive through the standing water. >> you will get stuck. it's inevitable. it may not happen this storm, but if you keep doing it, will you will go stuck in the high water. don't do it. >> now we're dealing with winds. tom kierein here with the forecast. good morning. the winds have been picking up. by the way, you drive your car through the high water, you could ruin the motor and cost you thousands of dollars. not worth it. the winds have been gusting to around 40 miles per hour this morning. these are the latest wind gusts now just in, reagan national airport, 30 miles per hour. gaithersburg, a gust near 40.

we've had gusts over 40 in western maryland, panhandle of west virginia, especially along the bridges. gusts have been around 25 to 30 miles per hour over the last hour. temperatures now, prince george's county in the low 50s. upper 50s much of southern maryland, including anne arundel, calvert, charles, st. mary's, montgomery county now dropping down to the mid 40s. it's just the upper 40s to near 50 arlington and fairfax, points southwest, loudoun county, into fauquier counties and culpeper. also high water there. watch out for creeks and streams running high by 8:00 a.m. it's going to be still in the upper 40s. by 10:00 mid 40s. winds gusting 40 to 50 miles per hour later this morning as we get sunshine breaking out. now here's how things are looking for the rest of the day. temperatures are going to hold steady in the 40s between now and perhaps around 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. by 5:00, dropping down to the upper 30s and low 40s. low 30s by midnight tonight. i'll be back in ten minutes with

your seven-day outlook. that's coming up. now a look at traffic. here's danella. good morning. we'll start with the rails. minor delays on the marc train. 890, an eight-minute delay. to the camden south, train 841. a six-minute delay. vre, metro, not reporting delays at this time. have an update for you, crash i-95 northbound. this is in the hov lanes right near dumfries road. the crash is just in the left shoulder lane. but local lanes, you know, as you make your way north from quantico, just a bit of a delay as you head toward 234. downed trees, watching it southbound branch avenue. this is closed between allentown road and kirby road. and if you're traveling in northwest, i have a report of a downed tree along porter street and connecticut avenue. i'll give you an update in ten minutes. aaron and eun? >> thanks. it is 5:40. still to come, the abs of jurors that could keep -- actionses of jurors that could keep a former

culpeper police officer out of jail. watch out for standing water. floodi

16 before the hour. this morning you need it watch out for rising water on area streets. overnight, emergency crews had to rescue one driver stuck in high water in montgomery county. news4's derek ward live in brookville this morning, the scene of one high water rescue. derek, what do you know? >> reporter: good morning. we are here on gold mine road in brookville. down the road, i'll shine a light helping you to see. first off, look at the edge of the water. see where that line disappears? that's how quickly this gets deep. too deep for a car to pass through. take a look up there. you can see the taillights of that vehicle. there was a water rescue from the vehicle. when authorities got on the scene the driver was on the roof

of the car. take a look at video that we shot earlier. the driver indeed was on the roof of the car. he was rescued. he's on the other side of the bridge now being attended to. we're told he's in good condition. no doubt he's kind of cold because it's gotten chillier. look at the water and the power of it rushing across where we are now. look at the sign. you see the signs aren't resting on the ground. so that gives you a sense of how high the water is. and if it comes up to the wheel well of the car, it's at least a foot deep. it takes a lot less than that to make a car buoyant and unmaneuverable and dangerous as this person found out earlier. this is what you'll encounter on low lying areas as you do your morning commute before the sun comes up. and you just have to be careful. look at the yellow line here. you see how quickly that disappears. if you don't know the road, you see darkness. don't drive into it. we are live in brookville, back

to you. >> thank you, derek. a judge will announce tomorrow if she's -- if she'll declare a mistrial in the case for a former cull purpose police officer accused -- culpeper police officer accused of murder. a clerk found two dictionaries and a thesaurus in the jury room before the verdict. the panel looked up the definition of "malice" which suggests confusion with jury instructions. daniel harmon-wright claimed he shot patricia ann cook last year when his arm got stuck in her suv window when she tried to drive away. the jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter this past tuesday. anne arundel county's council is already working to remove disgraced county executive john leopold from office. he was convicted tuesday of misconduct in office for having county workers do political and personal errands for him. he was suspended immediately, and an executive was named. now the council introduced a bail removing him from office. they're expected to vote monday after a public hearing. imagine waking up to a knock at the door. it's a police officer.

the police officer tells you he has your iphone. that's exactly what happened to one woman here in the district, mika rothman was taking a nap on tuesday afternoon. a burglar apparently busted into her home, police say he stole laptops, credit cards and an iphone. an officer later spotted the alleged burglar looking suspicious. he used pictures on the iphone to track the stolen items back to the house rothman shares with her roommates. when police returned to the home, she was still sleeping. >> filecredibly lucky that he wasn't violent and that police did a good job getting our stuff back. >> police believe the burglar targeted the house because the security door was not closed. a secretary of is on for a man who stabbed a man on a metro bus. the victim was stabbed twice in the chest. the attacker jumped off the bus when it got to 11th and h in northeast. the victim is expected to recover. police don't know if he know the attacker or if the stabbing was

random. metro called in another bus to finish the route for the 60 passengers on board. news4 has more from the live desk with breaking news. tonight? >> good morning. we're following breaking news out of south africa. two commuter trains have crashed this morning. it happened near atridgeville, a suburb west of pretoria. between 150 and 300 people have been injured. 20 critically. that number is subject to change as they are -- as they go through the injuries and are able to get a more definitive numbers. both trains were full and many cars contained schoolchildren. two commuter trains clyded in south africa, between 150 and 300 people injured. that's the latest from the live desk. back to you. prince george's county is considering plans to add new stores, office space, and apartments near greenline metro stations. leaders held a public meeting last night on plans for new development at the branch avenue station. there are also plans for

southern avenue, nayilar road and assault parkway. they're considering adding big box stores, office space, and a brand new high school. not everyone agrees the new development is needed. >> plenty of available land that can be developed. >> people are coming to catch the subway and going downtown. they're parking their cars here. that's basically it. >> the development plans will go before the prince george's county council and planning board for approval this summer. this morning a scam alert before you try get that tax refund. virginia's taxation department says people are getting robocalls about its way-to-go prepaid mastercard. the automated caller is trying to get the listener to give up personal information. the taxation department says it doesn't make automated calls, nor does it solicit personal information that way. the virginia house of delegates will soon vote on a measure to give public schools in the commonwealth a report card. the house education committee voted in favor of a bill that grades public schools on an a to f scale. the committee backed several

other bills. one would create a board to oversee failing schools. another would require teachers to be trained in administering cpr. the committee also endorsed legislation allowing schools to create their own calendars and open before labor day. . homeschool -- home-schooled students want to be allowed to play sports at public schools. the tebow bill is named after nfl quarterback tick tebow who was home schooled in florida but allowed to play high school football. he went on to win the heisman trophy and two national titles at the university of florida. coming up on 5:51. tom kierein here to tell us about wind. >> the rain was pounding on the roof last night, coming down hard. really piled up quickly. we've had flooding problems as a result. there's the radar over the last six hours. you see the rain that roared through.

now lingering sprinkles. these are the radar estimates. areas in good friend had as much as three inches of rain. that was parts of prince william county, northern prince william county, fairfax, montgomery, parts of loudoun county, too, into howard county. two to three inches of rain. elsewhere, an inch to an inch and a half. as a result, rivers and streams are flowing out of their banks. all these counties in green, that includes montgomery county, frederick in maryland, and then in virginia, loudoun county, fauquier, culpeper, and rappahannock. and panhandle of west virginia. watch out for high water if you're driving along. just don't attempt to go through. it winds are gusting. winds gusting over 30 miles per hour around the metro area and points north and west. we've had disgust over 40 miles per hour, panhandle of west virginia, parts of western maryland. gusts will be up to 50 miles per hour, all these counties filled with color, all of northern virginia, the district, most of maryland. gusts to 50 miles per hour until about 6:00 today.

right now around the metro area, montgomery county, temperatures are down into the mid 40s. prince george's county now upper 40s. low 50s in washington. arlington, fairfax counties 50ss. prince william, fauquier, temperatures in the upper 40s. stafford, spotsylvania, culpeper, generally around 50 degrees. later today we'll have it dropping from the 50s through the 40s through the middle of the day. then the 30s after sunset and by late evening. 20s by dawn on friday. it will feel like winter again. tomorrow morning, we may get some flurries, and we'll have also strong gusty winds tomorrow. we could have gusts to 40 miles per hour. highs only climb to the upper 30s on friday afternoon. and then on saturday, teens in the morning, afternoon highs mid 30s. could get some flurries late saturday night, perhaps into sunday morning. by then upper 20s. sunday around 40 degrees, and we'll have a lot of cloudiness through the weekend. the winds will diminish over the weekend thankfully. as we start off monday, it still

looks cold. 20s in the morning, afternoon highs in the 30s with sunshine in and out. partly cloudy on tuesday and wednesday. milder as we get into the afternoon hours. let's check your first 4 traffic on this thursday morning. danella's here with the latest look. good morning. good morning. and we'll start with a live look from chopper 4. we talked about this earlier this morning. northbound i-95 in maryland. this is as you approach 32. you could see tow truck on the scene and a car off to your left shoulder lane. in a ditch here because of the crash. police still on the scene. as far as travel lanes, they're open. volume northbound pretty light. just be aware of this. at one point this accident did have all but the right lane blocked. cleared to the left shoulder lane. tracking a downed tree on porter street in northwest. completely shut down in both directions. this is between connecticut -- at connecticut avenue, all your lanes are blocked. you can use rodman as an alternate road. over to new york avenue, still have traffic lights flashing.

fairview avenue. treat it as a four-way stop. still seeing flooding. stone heather drive in virginia at ladybank lane. this is in chantilly. flooding at that intersection. also flooding as you make your way closer to annandale. woodburn road is closed at spicewood drive. aaron, over to you. >> thank you. a new metro ad campaign aims to change the public's perception about the word "jihad." posters are up at shaw, waterfront, rockville, and dunn loring metro stations. they show images of muslims expressing their jihad. the council for american islamic relations says the word has become synonymous with terrorism, but they say it really means struggling in the way of good. you will soon see track work on all five metro lines this weekend. it's the blue and orange lines you may want to avoid. buses replacing trains between federal center southwest and cheverly on the orange line and between federal center and benning on the blue line. that means the capital south, eastern market, potomac avenue, and stadium armory, minnesota

avenue, and deanwood stations will all be closed. there's also single tracking on the red and orange lines. sunday only on the green and yellow. once again, the d.c. tax cab commission delayed new credit card rules. the commission decided it needed more time before requiring all cabs to accept credit cards. d.c. cabs will likely take credit cards in may at the earlie earliest. the commission says it doesn't want to rush the new rules. you may remember a judge overturned a plan to install all d.c. cabs with veriphone smart meter systems because of a flawed contract process. cab owners can get credit card readers from any company. a busy day on capitol hill as lawmakers tackle a hot-button issue, whether or not to raise the nation's debt ceiling. we have more live from cnbc. good morning. good morning, the senate is expected to vote today on a bill to suspend the debt ceiling or the u.s. borrowing limit for three months to allow more time for debate on the country's fiscal issues. the house passed a measure last

week. the senate version includes several republican amendments including matching spending cuts for every dollar increase in the debt ceiling. but they're expected to go down in defeat. now the bill won't technically raise the debt ceiling but will spend it until may 19 when it will be raised by the amount the treasury borrows in the interim. meanwhile, a new report finds foreclosure activity rose in more than half of the biggest u.s. metro areas last year. but realty track says activity decreased from 2010 when foreclosures peaked in most markets. foreclosures dropped in 12 of the top 20 metro markets with the biggest declines in phoenix, san francisco, and detroit. the biggest increases were in tampa, miami, and baltimore. and what are the top market for buying a foreclosed home this year? realty track says your best bets are in jacksonville, chicago, and el paso, texas. >> all right.

thank you. we still haven't heard from livingsocial about reports that it had a tumultuous 2012. according to the "washington post," that d.c.-based online deal seller lost $650 million last year. the company also let go 10% of its work force. there were some bright spot for livingsocial. despite the losses, its revenue jumped to more than $500 munn million last year. that's more than double the $250 million it generated in 2011. people in montgomery county may want to invest in reusable bags. the county raised twice as much money as it expected from its new bag tax. the "washington examiner" reports montgomery county raised millions but projected to raise $1.2 million from the tax. it's based on projections on the district's system. all right. >> catch you off guard. didn't realize it didn't just apply to food. >> retailers, all retailers, yep. 5:57. the heavy rain is gone. we continue to track serious problems caused by the storm

that we saw overnight. here's a live look at one such trouble spot in the brookville area. a driver had to be rescued.

right now, many neighborhoods look just like this. waterlogged from hours of downpours. you're looking at a live